Kotka Port railway station

The Kotka Port railway station[3] (Finnish: Kotkan sataman rautatieasema, Swedish: Kotka hamns järnvägsstation) is located in the town of Kotka, Finland, right by its namesake, the Kotka ferry terminal.

For the actual seaport in Kotka, Finland, see Port of Hamina-Kotka.
Kotka Port
Kotkan satama
Kotka hamn
VR station
General information
LocationSatamakatu 9
48100 Kotka
Finland
Coordinates60°28′05″N 026°56′22″E
Owned byFinnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
Operated byVR Group
Line(s)Kouvola–Kotka
Platforms1 side platform
Other information
Station codeKts
ClassificationPart of split operating point (Kotka)[1]
History
Opened31 May 1998 (1998-05-31)
Passengers
200816,000 [2]
Services
Preceding station VR Group Following station
Kotka
towards Kouvola
 Kouvola–Kotka Terminus
Location

Kotka Port is followed by Kotka station, located around 800 metres (0.50 mi) to the west.[4] Despite such naming, Kotka Port is somewhat nearer to the actual center of Kotka, also being the initial reason for the station's inception. Furthermore, its location makes it possible for passengers to transfer to and from Baltic Sea ferries.

Kotka Port is the origin of VR commuter rail line O and the southern terminus of the Kotka Line from Kouvola.[5]

History

A railway stop called Satamakatu – in use from 1932 to 1938 and situated about 200 metres (660 ft) further east – can be considered an early predecessor of the modern Kotka Port station. A footpath leading across the tracks is the only remaining feature of the former halt.

The current station originated as an summertime experiment in the early 1990s to take passengers closer to the centre of events during the annual Kotka Maritime Festival.[5] It became a permanent full-time station in 1998 and has since functioned as the southern terminus of regional trains to and from Kouvola and Lahti .[6] In 2022, regional trains serving the Kotka Line were integrated into VR commuter rail, receiving the line designation O.

The official English name of the station used to be Kotka Harbour.

Future plans

There are plans for multiple major public investment projects in and around the Port of Kotka – for example, a new campus by Xamk, the Southeastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, will be completed in 2024, less than 500 metres (550 yd) away from the station.

In a 2020 study by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency regarding the future of the Kotka Line and the Hamina Line, it was stated that the possibility of service increases might justify the addition of another platform track at the station.[7]

Services

O Stopping train to Kouvola / on certain departures to Lahti

References
  1. Railway Network Statement 2021 (PDF). Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. 18 June 2020. ISBN 978-952-317-744-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. Henkilöliikennepaikkojen kehittämisohjelma (PDF). Helsinki: Finnish Infrastructure Transport Agency. 2010. ISBN 978-952-255-511-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  3. "Kotka port railway station - VR". www.vr.fi. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  4. "Railway stations and routes". VR Group. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. Iltanen, Jussi (2009). Radan varrella: Suomen rautatieliikennepaikat (in Finnish). ISBN 978-951-593-214-3.
  6. "SATAMASTA KOTKAN HENKILÖJUNIEN PÄÄTEPYSÄKKI, Itä-Suomeen ei suuria muutoksia aikataulukauden vaihtuessa". VR Group (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 13 June 1998.
  7. Lonka, Tuomas; Nyby, Marko; Riikonen, Juha (2020). (Kouvola)–Kotka/Hamina liikenteellinen tarveselvitys (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. p. 32. ISBN 978-952-317-790-1.
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